Evelyn June Norris

Evelyn June Hearod Norris, 86, of Wynnburg, Tennessee, passed away peacefully in her home on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, surrounded by family watching the sun set over the fields.

Born June 5, 1940, in Ridgely, Tennessee, Evelyn, “June,” grew up playing and working the fields of Lake County’s “Big Sandy”. Evelyn took great pride in her work, humbly remembering she was always the first to fill up her cotton sack. It was here that she developed a deep appreciation for music, nature, and especially family. She fondly remembers picking vegetables for the family supper, chasing her shadow, and playing with her dog, Buster. These values of hard work, creative imagination, deep connection to nature helped shape her life. You could often find her lovingly tending to her sprawling gardens, admiring nesting eagles in the cypress trees of Reelfoot Lake, or taking in a beautiful sunset on the banks of the Mississippi River or from her porch in Wynnburg.

Evelyn’s most cherished connections were to those around her and, just like her father Harvey Hearod, she never met a stranger. As a teenager, she followed her brother, Bobby, to Chicago where she made new friends, learned new dishes, and worked assembling radios. She ran her own beauty salon, Evelyn’s Beauty and Style, and took great pride in helping people feel and look their best. She loved people and truly knew how to meet them where they were and make them feel special and valued no matter how brief the interaction.

She was playful and imaginative. From setting up elaborate treasure hunts with her grandchildren and great grandchildren (who she affectionately referred to as her “Sugar Dumplins”) to bringing joy and connection to people in nursing homes, all the way to her artful work as a beautician for the community from young children to the funeral home. Her door was open to everyone and all who knew her will fondly remember spending time in her living room, looking at flowers, feeding the cats, singing and listening to music.

She was creative and self-taught, from painting what she saw out her window, to intricate stained glass pieces, singing in the church choir, and artfully decorating her house for each holiday. Her creativity especially shone through in the kitchen where she delighted in using her adept skills and deep knowledge to nourish those she loved. She never met a duck that she couldn't pluck, would crack pecans until her fingers bled, and could make a perfect apple pie crust before you could cut up the apples. Never one to be bound by a recipe, she cooked from memory, imagination and feel where a pinch of this and a dash that led to a unique and delicious experience each and every time. She loved to learn and share her culinary secrets and whether it was her mother-in-law’s chicken and dumplings and famous yeast rolls, kolackies pastries shared by a Polish neighbor during her time in Chicago, her annual divinity candy and an Amalgamation cake she started at Thanksgiving and we enjoyed at Christmas time, or how to perfectly fry a homemade peach pie, each one had a story and a lesson that you never tired of learning.

Evelyn was a matriarchal pillar not just for her adoring family but also for the community around her. She was a devoted member of Wynnburg Baptist Church where she served as a deacon, lent her beautiful singing voice to the choir, and taught Sunday school and other religious-based classes to multiple generations. She volunteered at nursing homes, helped local school children with their homework, taught GED classes and even co-hosted a show with Coy Leake on Tiptonville’s local television station. She was a skilled beautician, and her shop was the place to come for sincere, heartfelt conversation, a listening ear and your own signature style.

Just as her mother taught her to hold her babies up on her shoulder, Evelyn, “Mama E,” took great joy and pride in her family. Even through her final moments, she made sure each one of the many children in her life felt special and loved. The gifts of her self-taught wisdom will live on in the life lessons she shared through aphorisms such as: “You can let it make you or let it break you;” “When all else fails, dance;” and, “Where there’s love, there’s no distance.” She was a storyteller and a meaning-maker. Her poetic voice and connection-making mind found the story, the thread of meaning, and would say, it's not just a saying, it's a reality. She loved her Tennessee, her family, friends and community.

Survivors include her two daughters, Regina Norris Jones of Wynnburg, TN and Janet Norris Gates (Bob) of Frankfort, KY; a sister, Rita Kolwyck of Maury City, TN; six grandchildren, Josh Jones (Kristi), Heather Jones Hayes (Caleb), Robert Gates (Emily), Allie Norris Kilpatrick, Madelyn Gates-Milardo (Luke) and Mary Norris Grisham; and her nine great-grandchildren, Emaleigh Jones, Wyatt Jones, Aaron Crawford, Vada Crawford, Connor Grisham, Ollie Grisham, Evelyn "Evie" Hayes, Piper Gates and Finley Gates.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Glenn Norris; a son, Jeff Norris; an infant son, Michael Norris; her parents, Harvey and Mattie Ruth Johnson Hearod; a brother, Bobby Hearod; and a sister, Opal Hearod.

Services will be Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 1 p.m.at Wynnburg Baptist Church with Rev. Chip Davis and Rev. John Troutman officiating. Burial will follow in New Haven Cemetery. The family will receive visitors beginning at 12 p.m. until service time at the church. Dyersburg Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Honored to serve as pallbearers will Bob Gates, Josh Jones, Robert Gates, Caleb Hayes, Lukes Gates-Milardo, Wyatt Jones and Derek Hicks. Honorary pallbearers will be Bill Jones and Bobby Norris. 

-Lovingly written by her Sugar Dumplins